**A.N.: Sorry about the wait! I've been super busy with midterms and stuff, but the second part to this is actually underway, and should be out soon.**

If this girl changes her order one more time, I am giving her a cup of water and whipped cream.

Kyouji glanced down at the small notebook with multiple strikethroughs and items written in the margin. The single order filled the entire page and it was only one cup of coffee.

…and now I have to read this back to her…

"Okay… you want an iced, half caff… venti, 2-pump, two shot, sugar free… cinnamon, soy latte." Kyouji tried to avoid wincing from where his tongue pulled at the injury from the previous night as he spoke, but he wasn't certain he concealed it. Not that it would matter. She hadn't even looked up since she reached the front of the line. Thankfully there was no one waiting behind her.

She has been ordering for the past five minutes. Please let this be what she wants.

"I-I think so." She twisted two strands of hair between her fingers and kept her gaze fixed on the counter.

"Well, here's your number. Your order will be ready-" whenever I figure out how to decipher it "-soon."

She nodded and accepted her number, not even looking all the way up at him to do so, before making her way to one of the tables.

...I'm choosing not to be offended at that.

Kyouji looked down at the notebook with a slight sigh.

Coffee should not be this complicated. He wasn't even sure where to start. Maybe Wasabi knows.

Making his way to the back room, Kyouji spotted Wasabi at the sink, washing dishes that he was pretty sure had been clean before he started. The work dynamic with Wasabi was markedly different from when Hiro was there. Hiro was constantly moving about, talking with the customers and manning the tables. Wasabi rarely came out from behind the counter, and was content to hide in the back room and wash dishes while Kyouji dealt with the handful of customers that had trickled in over the course of the afternoon.

He paused in the doorway.

How do you ask people for help, again? Kyouji hesitated, before turning to go back to the shop. I'll figure it out, myse-

"Need something?" Wasabi looked up as he toweled his hands dry.

"Um," Kyouji indicated to his notepad. "Just a weird order I'm not sure how to make. I-I can figure it out."

"Nah, man. That's what I'm here for." Wasabi put down the towel and followed him back to the machines. When Kyouji showed him the notebook he chuckled.

"Let me guess, the person who ordered this was a girl with long brown hair and she didn't look up at all." Wasabi took the notebook, smirking at Kyouji's momentary look of disbelief.

"I'm guessing you've dealt with her before." Kyouji handed him a cup and watched carefully as he began to fill the order, keeping it in mind for future reference.

"Oh, yeah." As the machine started up, Wasabi took the cinnamon shaker from the shelf. "Though Hiro usually takes her order and suggests something less complicated, which also helps with the indecisiveness."

"Hm." That would have been nice to know.

The door to the café opened with a jingle, and Honey Lemon walked into the café, a bright red and yellow bag slung over her shoulder.

"Hi, guys!" She bounded up to the counter, grinning widely. "I finally got everything unpacked. I found so many things I've lost over the years." She gestured to her bag. "See? I even found my favorite bag."

Wasabi leaned against the counter. "So, you've got your lab all set up, now?"

Honey Lemon laughed. "That was the first thing finished. Priorities, right?"

She has a lab? The thought put Kyouji on edge, and he looked away towards the machine as it poured dark liquid into the cup beneath it. He wasn't even certain if he was supposed to be a part of the conversation or not.

"It's just so nice that I don't have to try to fit everything into that tiny purse I had lying around." Honey Lemon smiled while adjusting the strap to the bag she had over her shoulder. "Though, I suppose I could have just picked up a new one when I took Tad-Teddy shopping. Heh, I'm still not used to that name. I just didn't think about it, since I was more worried about replacing my camera."

Haha, yeah… about that…

Kyouji looked over at her, trying to gauge her reaction, but Wasabi took Kyouji's glance as a question. "On her way here from England, her bag got stolen at the airport. She never did get it back, but we weren't really expecting her to."

How do people normally react to this?

Kyouji's gut reaction widened his eyes, so shock it was. "A-are you okay?"

That sounded sincere… not.

Luckily she bought it, and smiled brightly at him.

"I'm completely fine, everything important was kept close, and I wasn't hurt, so it could have been much worse." Honey Lemon looked down, flushing slightly. "Thanks for asking."

Uh… I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to say 'you're welcome' here.

Kyouji nodded, pushing his bangs back off of his face before turning his attention to the coffee machine as it announced that the coffee was finished. Wasabi and Honey Lemon continued their conversation as Kyouji finished up the order and called the number. He tuned them out as the girl collected her drink and left without a word. He drummed his fingers against the counter before turning back to them, having decided that he couldn't be completely antisocial.

Honey Lemon finally noticed the distinct lack of robotics nerds. "So, where's Hiro? Is Teddy with him?"

Wasabi's smile faltered a bit, and he spoke in a serious tone. "They went to the hospital to see Cass. They left…" Wasabi glanced at the clock on the wall. "…two hours and forty-five minutes ago… forty-six minutes." Nodding, he turned back to Honey Lemon.

Why doesn't he just say three hours ago?

"Already?" Honey Lemon looked concerned, though Kyouji was at a loss as to why.

"Yeah, Teddy practically dragged his brother out the door when I got here, but Hiro seemed just as eager to go. I wonder what's taking them so long."

Wait, brother? Aren't they a little… I don't know, too far apart age-wise?

"Hmm." Honey Lemon bit her thumb as she glanced at the door. "Do you think they'll be back by closing time?"

There were only fifteen minutes before six, and Wasabi and Kyouji had already started to put things away since the café was completely empty after the girl had left.

Wasabi shook his head. "It's not likely, but I can stay behind if it's necessary. I've got a couple of textbooks in my bag that I can look over while I wait."

Fifteen minutes passed with no sign of the boys or any other customers. Every now and then as they were cleaning up, Kyouji would catch flashes of light out of the corner of his eye from where he guessed a light was reflecting off of Honey Lemon's phone, since she had it out as she chatted away.

Clouds had covered the sky, and the sun was low enough that it no longer gave light to the street, bringing an early night. As Kyouji looked out the window, he saw people as moving pillars of red and orange light until they walked under a street lamp and their features became apparent. It was entertaining to watch people switch back and forth, but he stilled when he saw two figures step out of a vehicle.

The vehicle was too dark to make out, but the smaller figure didn't glow like others did. It shone bright yellow, with flickers of white at its core. Kyouji blinked a couple of times, wondering if it was a fluke, but it didn't change until the two got close enough to the café for the light to reveal the features of the kid.

What on earth? That's Tadashi, er… Teddy. …there's something wrong with that kid.

Kyouji couldn't comment on it, but he was a little concerned. He was pretty sure that no one healthy could maintain that temperature. Which made him wonder…

The brothers entered the café, and Teddy was practically bouncing up and down with excitement while the Hiro looked on with a fond smile. He looked like the weight of the world had been lifted off of his shoulders.

Brothers. I can see it. …He doesn't look sick.

"Guys! Guys! She's awake! It worked!" Teddy ran up to the counter and looked like he was shaking in excitement, bouncing on the tips of his feet as if he were about to take flight. "I mean, she won't get to come home for a while, but she's awake and she's talking!"

The kid's face looked like it might split from the wide grin that stretched across it. Honey Lemon and Wasabi were expressing their happiness as a hundred questions flashed through Kyouji's mind. There were two that took prominence.

What worked?

and

Is something burning?

He was pretty sure they had turned the ovens off, and they hadn't actually used them too much that day. No one else seemed to notice.

"Uh, is it just me, or does it smell like something's burning?" Kyouji moved as if to go to the ovens, but the scent faded quickly until he returned to where the others were.

Hiro's face did a strange contortion where it went from near panic as he set his hand on Tadashi's shoulder, before quickly removing it with a look of realization that quickly morphed into fear again, though he was clearly trying to mask it.

"Hey, Teddy. How about you and Honey Lemon go upstairs and get a movie started? I'm sure one of the machines is just overheating a bit."

"O-kay?" The kid looked up at his brother with confusion evident on his face before he shrugged and started up the stairs.

Honey looked at Hiro as if she wanted to ask something, before glancing at Kyouji with a small smile that looked almost guilty. "Sorry. I guess I'll be seeing you around, Kyouji." She then turned and followed after Teddy.

…why is she apologizing?

In the meantime, Hiro was doing a superficial check over the machines as Kyouji and Wasabi finished the other requirements of closing the café. Kyouji waved goodbye and made his way out the door, knowing there was no way for his questions to be answered without appearing suspicious.

Glancing up at the cloudy sky, he mentally ran through the list of the closest safe houses, since he'd rather not be soaked if it started to rain. Turning left, he decided on one that was least likely to be populated, even if it was a little further than he'd prefer to walk at that point.

Kyouji made his way down the street, fiddling with the syringes he still kept in his pocket, wary of the possible assailants that could be lurking in the shadows.

"Oi, Jadoku!"

Kyouji glanced back and spotted Himitsu shutting a door behind him. He walked up to Kyouji's side, a black umbrella hanging from one of his wrists, and both hands tucked in his pockets. Kyouji tried to keep himself from grimacing.

Would it be too much to ask for one day without this? …it wouldn't be so bad if he weren't always trying to convince me of something I already know. I don't need any reminders.

"Himitsu." Kyouji continued on his way, not glancing back to see if he was following. He heard footsteps, and he rolled his eyes, before mentally berating himself for doing so. It wasn't like Himitsu was lying to him, if anything he was trying to help… in a selfish and backhanded way. "Is this going to become a daily thing?"

"'Ey, this was just a happy accident. But, in a manner o' speaking, yeah. I gotta keep an eye on my investment."

"Hm." Kyouji wondered at the wording of that… it wasn't that much that he owed him, why was it such a big deal? Although… Himitsu loved secrets and being in the know. He was probably more interested in the information than the money at this point.

"So… got anything to share?"

Called it.

"Well, Hiro and Ted-uh… Tadashi are officially brothers." Kyouji stumbled on the name, having finally gotten used to mentally referring to him as Teddy.

Kyouji and Teddy. Jadoku and Tadashi. Yeah, I can remember that.

Himitsu merely laughed at the slip up.

"Anyway, their aunt woke up or whatever, but apparently, she can't leave the hospital anytime soon, so I've still got time."

Himitsu raised an eyebrow at him. "What's that gotta do with anything?"

Kyouji just shook his head at the question.

When she comes back, they won't need me anymore, so why would they keep me around?

Instead of saying this, he switched the topic to something else that had been bothering him.

"In order for this to work, I'm going to have to make it so that the injection does more than just momentarily paralyze. I'd just up the concentration a little, but he's a kid, and I've never used it on a kid. I don't want to overdo it, since clearly we don't want him dead."

Himitsu didn't look that concerned. "You'll figure it out."

Really helpful… though what did I expect him to do about it?

"There's another potential issue." Himitsu looked at Kyouji, waiting for him to continue. Kyouji hesitated as he realized it would reveal another of his abilities, but at least this one was almost acceptable. He'd also already started speaking, and he couldn't just make something up. "When it's dark, I can see people by their body temperatures, and his is ridiculously high. I'm not talking about fever high either, though that's what I thought at first. It's almost like he's… burning."

A thoughtful look came over Himitsu's face, but after putting it like that Kyouji was reminded of the odd and inexplicable burning scent he had noticed at the café. He wouldn't mention it, but it was something to consider.

"Hm." Himitsu's reaction, or rather lack of one, wasn't too surprising to Kyouji, considering what he had put up with so far. He was probably filing the information somewhere away in his mind to use at an inconvenient time. Well… inconvenient for Kyouji.

Kyouji glanced up when he felt a couple of water droplets hit his face.

Just perfect.

He was still a couple of blocks from his destination, and he had no hopes for the heavier rain to hold out until he got there. He picked up the pace, and startled a little when he heard the dull thump of an umbrella opening behind him. He looked over at Himitsu warily when the shadow of the umbrella covered him, but was surprised to find that he wasn't walking any closer than he had been earlier. Himitsu shrugged.

"It's a big umbrella, I didn't figure you'd object."

Kyouji debated the merits of going on ahead, but the torrent of rain that unleashed itself in a matter of seconds after the drizzle began made up his mind for him. At least Himitsu wasn't lecturing him about avoiding attachments; he might just have to steal the umbrella and run if he did.